Category: After Dark

  • DragonKing Dark: ‘The Led Zeppelin Curse’

    DragonKing Dark: ‘The Led Zeppelin Curse’

    A great show for you today as Karl reviews the book “The Led Zeppelin Curse” by Lance Gilbert. The book explores Jimmy Page and his involvement with the occult and especially his ownership of the Boleskine House manor on the shores of Loch Ness that was previously owned by the occultist Aleister Crowley. Did Jimmy Page’s…

  • DragonKing Dark: The history of tarot cards

    DragonKing Dark: The history of tarot cards

    Tarot cards evoke images of the esoteric and the occult, and sporting names like “The Devil”, “The Hanged Man”, “The Tower”, and “Death”, it’s not hard to understand why they stoke the imagination. While decks of cards have been used for millennia for divination, the tarot’s antiquity is someone in question. While they have been linked…

  • DragonKing Dark: What is the evil secret of the Oriuagor?

    DragonKing Dark: What is the evil secret of the Oriuagor?

    If we have learned anything about people over the years, it’s that there is a segment of us that seek out the most dangerous and extreme. So, it should come as no surprise that in the area of the occult and esoteric, there are those who seek out the “most evil” and “most terrifying” books.…

  • DragonKing Dark: Mailbag and your feedback

    DragonKing Dark: Mailbag and your feedback

    On this week’s DragonKing Dark, I have a rare mailbag and feedback show as my recent shows on society and fear have generated a lot of conversation among you. Despite these seemingly dire times, there is hope and we hear from a number of people this week on topics ranging from masks to social unrest and…

  • DragonKing Dark: ‘The Devil and Father Amorth’ documentary

    DragonKing Dark: ‘The Devil and Father Amorth’ documentary

    The Devil and Father Amorth is a 2017 documentary film directed by William Friedkin showing the ninth exorcism of an Italian woman in the village of Venafro referred to as “Cristina” with this attempt performed by Father Gabriele Amorth. Friedkin was, of course, the director of 1973’s The Exorcist and he wanted to see an…

  • DragonKing Dark: The anger within us

    DragonKing Dark: The anger within us

    I can feel the temperature rising, can’t you? You can’t escape the images of anger and violence in today’s society, but what are we all so mad about? It turns out that there are plenty of reasons: both real and imagined. Periodically, humans seem to lose sight of all reason and embark on witch hunts.…

  • DragonKing Dark: Distrust of government and each other

    DragonKing Dark: Distrust of government and each other

    I’m sure you’ve noticed… we are having a hard time getting along with one another lately. Even the simplest of things seem to trigger people. One would think simply asking the public to wear a mask to slow the spread of a disease would be met with, “Oh sure, that’s easy.” Instead, it’s been met…

  • DragonKing Dark: 2011’s ‘The Devil We Know’

    DragonKing Dark: 2011’s ‘The Devil We Know’

    DragonKing Dark gets darker again this week as I look at a 2011 documentary titled The Devil We Know. This documentary takes a look back at the historic origins of Satan. You might be saying, “Hey Karl, the origins of the Devil are from the Bible.” While that is true, the devil we have been…

  • DragonKing Dark: The most evil people in history

    DragonKing Dark: The most evil people in history

    DragonKing Dark podcast continues to get even darker this week as we continue the theme of the faces of evil. On this episode, host Karl Stern from WhenItWasCool.com asks the question, who are the most evil people in history? Several immediately come to mind for obvious reasons — but are there any we overlook? Are…

  • DragonKing Dark Podcast: 1971 and the Manson Family trial

    DragonKing Dark Podcast: 1971 and the Manson Family trial

    I celebrate my birthday all week long with a look back at the year I was born: 1971. On this episode, we look back at the insane circus that was the Charles Manson Family trial. While the killings took place in 1969 and the trial began in 1970, it wasn’t until 1971 that a verdict…

  • DragonKing Dark: A trilogy of pro wrestling murders

    DragonKing Dark: A trilogy of pro wrestling murders

    This week, DragonKing Dark takes a turn toward true crime with a look at three wrestlers whose careers were tainted by murder accusations. Everyone is very familiar with Chris Benoit who killed his wife and child and then himself, but did you know I once had dinner with him? I’ll tell you about it and…

  • DragonKing Dark: Pro wrestling and the curse of July

    DragonKing Dark: Pro wrestling and the curse of July

    Professional wrestling has had its share of tragedy, accidents, and true crime over its lengthy American history but July, as it seems, has historically been the worst month of all. A major superstar comes to America and is the darling of the press, spawning imitators for decades later and literally goes down with the ship.…

  • DragonKing Dark: Who were the Olmecs?

    DragonKing Dark: Who were the Olmecs?

    DragonKing Dark takes another journey back in time to study ancient civilizations in our continuing effort to make sense out of the history of mankind, a timeline which seems to have a lot of pieces that don’t fit. One of the great Central American cultures surrounded by a lot of mystery are the Olmecs. They…

  • DragonKing Dark: The most ancient of civilizations

    DragonKing Dark: The most ancient of civilizations

    This week on DragonKing Dark, I return to the topic of ancient civilizations and triy to unpack the question: What is actually the most ancient organized civilization we know of? Most of us know of the Sumerians and ancient Egypt, but recent archeological investigation is beginning to shed light on even older civilizations which were more north…

  • DragonKing Dark: Funerals, tombs, and memorials

    DragonKing Dark: Funerals, tombs, and memorials

    This week on the DragonKing Dark Podcast, we are going to look at how we remember the dead. In years past, the veneration of the deceased was a big deal. Historically, mankind has built elaborate tombs, pyramids, and even cities to honor the deceased. As recently as the early 1900s, it was not uncommon for…

  • DragonKing Dark: Secrets of Archaeology – The Mayans

    DragonKing Dark: Secrets of Archaeology – The Mayans

    The mysterious Mayan civilization built cities, roads, and elaborate complexes throughout Central America. An amazing advanced civilization that evaporated in a remarkably short period of time. Host Karl Stern watched an episode of Secrets of Archaeology and reviews it and relates his experiences visiting a Mayan holy site a few years ago.

  • DragonKing Dark: Biblical plagues and the Four Horsemen

    DragonKing Dark: Biblical plagues and the Four Horsemen

    On this episode of DragonKing Dark, host Karl Stern takes a break from reviewing retro paranormal shows and discusses a topic that have many of the religious world unsettled right now — end-time events. Karl takes a look back at the Biblical plagues of Egypt as detailed in the book of Exodus. Then, we visit…

  • DragonKing Dark: Roald Dahl’s ‘Tales of the Unexpected’

    DragonKing Dark: Roald Dahl’s ‘Tales of the Unexpected’

    On this episode of DragonKing Dark, I take a look at an amazing show written by Roald Dahl, Tales of the Unexpected. It’s a wonderful show that ran for nine seasons from 1979-1988 and can be found on Tubi (free) or with an Amazon Prime subscription. (It’s also getting rebooted.) Similar in many ways to The…

  • DragonKing Dark: Marvel Comics’ Son of Satan

    DragonKing Dark: Marvel Comics’ Son of Satan

    Another supernatural entity first appeared in the pages of Marvel Comics back in the 1970s alongside Ghost Rider — the Son of Satan! Daimon Hellstrom has occasionally appeared ever since in the pages of his own comic book series and as a member of The Defenders. In our current series we are examining the stories we…

  • DragonKing Dark: Avenging Angels

    DragonKing Dark: Avenging Angels

    We continue our look at supernatural aspects as presented in comic book stories and this week, I investigate the theme of avenging angels, angelic beings sent by a high power to right wrongs and serve justice. Obviously, they are vastly powerful and are based on archetype biblical angels. The Spectre, Angela, and other powerful beings…